Bobbles Bibbled n Bammed!

Wow it's been a bit since i've had the time to sit down and collect my thoughts for a blog post .. errr at least one that makes sense of sorts. :\ .. Well the GOOD thing about not posting in a bit is that I've a lot to share at least ..

BOBBLE CARDI:
is FINALLY done .. I didn't break any land speed records getting it there either .. Just took my time .. the 'slowest' part of finishing was thinking bout the zipper .. the one i bought was to long .. it matched perfectly, and was separating .. so I knew I had to fidge it somehow .. Now if mum was still alive, she would have been able to say .. oh do this .. but she isn't - so I had to dredge my memory (rather a deep scary place at times!!) and then ask my 96 yo grandmother if I was on the right track - she may be 96 but she's still sharp as a tack with a wicked sense of humour LMAO .. love my gma!!! She gave me the answer i needed in order to go ahead with confidence - (now i'm wishing i had taken pics of this .. :( )

Line up the bottom as usual; the take the excess at the top and fold it over and then cut. Then securely lock stitch / zig zag it into place .. now there could be an issue of the zipper tape unraveling with the cut .. I've cut it with pinking sheers .. if that proves to not work, the n I'll do some interfacing / zigzag stitching .. but it's all done .. a wee bit boob snug, but this hasn't been washed yet, and I know it will relax in the wash and over time with wear .. Ravelry members you can access my notes on the project page.

Just a few pics to show what it looks like .. doing this I broke 2 needles and refreshed my knowledge of profanity in several different languages .. stooopid thread ... it was a perfect match .. as well as a the main ingredient for frustration .. it's now in the trash and i changed threads / colours and the rest of it stitched up zippy quick ROFL ..



To see what else I've got bubbling in my brain .. I've sent up another post with my plots n plans ...

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the coming year with joy and eagerness :)

zip zoom bang ...

Heh ... that's what it feels like .. that I'm zooming along at mach 1 induced speeds doing the st st for the main part of the sweater! I knew that i was going to fly when I got the st st part of the sweater, which is 90% of it I'd say .. the 'ribbing' is the texture and bobbles, and there's a bit of that at the wrists and the button band .. i'm still saving that as my escape hatch for size considerations .. the pattern calls for buttons and a button band .. but I do have that zipper that I bought for the belated hoodie or NOT .. and it does match this just bout perfectly too! So I do have the option of turning this into a zipper cardi .. or doing the button and adding some 'room' if need be ..

Yes I'm all paranoid about the size on this .. can't say I blame me after the fiasco of the last one .. and my math was right! This time I'm just going to totally avoid it by following the pattern as close as I can with little or no modifications.

Once the back is done, then there's the front to do, then the sleeves .. and I'll do my normal trick of doing both sleeves at the same time .. that way I can copy my mistakes from sleeve to sleeve .. and no I'm not about to be stupid enough to ask .. what kind of a mistake can I make in just st st .. heh .. yeah right ..i am sooooo NOT going there ..

As for the recycled materials project, my friend Gina is developing an online community for it where we are going to have chat if I understood her correctly, email, photo albums and everything .. this is just going to be awesome! She's working like a fiend on it, has trashed it at least twice so far because she wasn't happy with it LOL .. poor gina ..

Just a recap .. we've expanded the challenge to include any project that you want to do .. the only requirement is that MUST be a recycled material - meaning got from the thrift store, dragged out of your husbands (or your) closet, attic, basement where ever you may find it - so have fun hunting and digging for your materials for the 2010 challenge .. and you can make as many projects as you want!

bobbling along ..

Progress has been made And not frogged :D **knitterhappydance I've made it thru the chart .. what I get to do now is 3 rows of purl, then 2 more bobble sections .. then the straight stocking stitch .. how cool is THAT?? I'm relieved that I've gotten this far and not had to frog it again ..

I got a few pics, and sorry that they aren't all that great .. a wee bit fuzzy and the colour (of course) is off .. I've not been able to get a consistent colour in any picture with this yarn .. but you do get an idea of the texture and pattern - which is part of what I wanted to do ..

knitless ...

This picture was taken on 27^th of October at our Knatter nite .. I meant to get this photo and a blog post up titled "Knitless since Tuesday", but it just didn't happen .. spending the next 2 days after this as a lump on the couch sick is reason enough .. I just didn't have the energy or inclination to hunt down a sweater that I wanted to do.

BUT

You knew there was a but .. heh .. I found one :D **knitterhappydance. And it is just wayyy to cute for words .. NOW .. I wasn't sure if I would use the purple still or try the cardinal red I have .. but I really do have that earmarked for a different project (I'll tell you about that one when I actually get to making it .. )

I found the Bobble-Edged Cardigan, a free pattern at unicornbooks.com. What I really like about this is that it's got texture, but a LOT of stocking stitch .. I've never done bobbles before so I really intrigued by it .. and of course the pattern ... what's rather unique about this is that it doesn't have traditional ribbing ... it uses bobbles for the ribbing .. how cool is THAT!

I've named this Bobble Cardi (ravelry project page) - for now .. until I can get more inventive with a name. The instructions are pretty straight forward - altho I did manage to have to frog it when I was at the 17^th row .. yeah i know .. you are NOT surprised ... What I had done, (even tho I made notes) reversed left front and right front on the chart .. I'm doing this pattern pretty much as written. Notice I said .. pretty much as written .. the one difference i'm doing here is that I'm doing the fronts and back as one-piece .. (no pics yet) and I'm doing the size 38 instead of the 40 since the last one I did was a 40. I still have the zipper that matches this yarn and I just might do a double bobble front ribbing instead of 1 row button band - the juries still out for now as I'm going to wait and see just how this fits me.

Gauge is "18 sts and 26 rows = 4" in st st using larger needles",larger needles being size 7. Well when I used the 7s for my swatch,I was like ½" smaller - so .. gauge for this yarn is same rows and stitches on size 8s .. and I tend to knit to gauge .. so I listened to my gut and we'll just have to see how right it is .. course I AM leaving wriggle room with the 'button' band :D

I just started the chart again and have hilighted my notes and specific points to remember lol .. I think that this one is going to work out .. I swear if I doesn't .. I'm going to trade off, throw out, sell, or burn this yarn!!